Category Archives: Chinese

You just can’t have one without the other, as the old song used to say! Oh, that was love and marriage….for those old enough to remember. I had purchased ground pork and ground beef to make Low Carb Crustless Taco Pie. Since I did not use all of the pork I had fresh ground pork to use up. Pinterest again! There was also some leftover chicken breast from the rotisserie chicken I had purchased. Clean out the fridge!!! Today you are getting both recipes…..

Add veggies and oil to a large pan or skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Scoot all of the veggies to one half of the pan. Add egg and allow to cook for 1 minute, then scramble it with a spoon or spatula and stir in with veggies.

Add rice to pan. Add soy sauce and stir over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until browned. Sprinkle remaining seasonings over the rice and stir another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in green onions.

1 or 2 sliced radishes (optional) seriously, I have started cooking radishes in my stir fries)

1/4 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

Freshly ground pepper

OPTIONAL RICE

Heat a wok until very hot.

Add the vegetable oil and heat until shimmering.

Add the garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds.

Add the shrimp and a pinch of salt and stir-fry until the shrimp are just beginning to turn pink, about 30 seconds.

Add the green beans and radishes and 2 tablespoons of the stock and stir-fry until the beans soften slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of stock along with the fish sauce and a generous pinch of pepper and stir-fry until the shrimp are cooked through and the beans are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer.

A 2008 survey by Heinz shows that Brussels sprouts now take the most-hated prize for Americans in general, with eggplant faring slightly worse among kids. Brussels sprouts seem to be universally loathed, practically: They make it to the top five in surveys of the most-hated vegetables around the world. From Just Disgusting, by Andy Griffiths…. check out the following link – Brussels Sprouts

I happen to be a big fan of these little gems. A simple little meal is a bunch of Brussels sprouts in a bowl with a few drops of water, microwaved with a little salt, pepper and butter. This time I decided to take it up a notch and use them in a stir fry (Thanks again to Pinterest). As Mikey would say…Try it and you will like it!

Whisk oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl; set sauce aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Brussel sprouts and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate; wipe out skillet.

Season steak with salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add steak in a single layer; cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until nearly cooked through, about 30 seconds. Add to Brussel sprouts.

I know this should not be something new to most folks, but I tried this one out a week ago and it was every bit as good as was stated. I do believe like the writer, that butter makes a difference. The most important thing is to cook and chill the rice beforehand! Trust me on this unless you want a sticky mess…

* Since I was out of fresh peas and carrots, I substituted a cup or so of frozen veggies which included broccoli, cauliflower and carrots//it worked.Directions:
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce (if using), and stir until combined. Continue stirring for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice. Then add in the eggs and stir to combine. Add the sesame oil, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
Serve warm.

Costco’s large quantities usually leave me scampering to use up those quantities rather than leave them sitting in the freezer for months. Recently, a friend gave me a bag of chicken and cilantro frozen wontons. Since I enjoy Chinese soups I thought I could try and use some of them up. Searching online I found this Jamie Oliver recipe. The great thing was I never had to make the wontons, using what I had from Costco!!

Wonton Soup

Serves 6
For the wonton dumplings (makes around 36 small ones) OR head to Costco for the chicken and cilantro ones)
• 36 small wonton pastry wrappers, round or square (you can find these in the fridges of Asian supermarkets)
• 150g cooked and shelled prawns or shrimps or chicken, finely chopped
• 150g lean pork mince
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• White pepperFor the soup
• 1.5 liters chicken stock
• 2 small heads of bok choy, or spinach roughly sliced
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 generous pinches of white pepper
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
In a large pan, bring your chicken stock to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, cook the dumplings. Fill the biggest saucepan you have with plenty of water and bring it to the boil. Add enough dumplings to create a single layer on the water. It’s important not to overcrowd the pot, so cook them in batches if you are cooking lots. Stir them gently as you bring the water up to the boil again. When the dumplings float to the top, they are cooked. OR, add your Costco wontons right into the stock mixture)
Once the dumplings float, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to your gently boiling chicken stock. Add the bok choy or spinach– first the white parts and then a minute later, the green parts. Bring the liquid up to the boil again and allow them to cook for around three minutes.
Turn off the heat and season your stock with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil and plenty of white pepper to taste. I’ve provided some guidelines, but feel free to amend according to your preferences.

one green onion choppedInstructions
1. In a small bowl mix egg and milk.
2. In a separate bowl, mix your flour and panko. In 5-10 piece batches, soak chicken chunks in milk mixture then in flour mixture, Repeat this twice.
3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on the stove and brown your chicken on all sides. You will not be fully cooking the chicken, just giving it a nice coat. Place the chicken pieces into your slow cooker
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 of the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter taste. Pour sauce evenly over the chicken, and carefully toss to coat.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4*. Serve warm over the rice of your choice.
6. Just before finishing add the remainder of the orange juice and continue to heat.

Sprinkle with chopped green onions.I found that this recipe was actually done in a little over 1 ½ hours on LOW. Maybe its because I am at sea level…LOL

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side.
2. Add the mixture of the orange juice, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chill sauce, garlic, ginger and the mixture of the water and the corn starch, toss to coat and cook until the sauce thickens, about a minute.
3. Remove from heat and serve garnished with sliced green onions.

Option: Replace some or all of the honey with orange marmalade.
Option: Add some vegetables to the mix such as broccoli, peas, peppers, etc.

I first came across this recipe several years ago. I have to admit that I love Hoisin Sauce which you will find in the Oriental section of any grocery store (even in Mexico). If you buy some flatbread or a prepared crust and those precooked chicken strips, this recipe is K.I.S.S. Cooking it on the BBQ keeps the kitchen from heating up!

Roll out dough if using fresh. Brush with olive oil. Place directly in center of BBQ for 1-3 minutes. Flip over and spread hoisin sauce, chicken, onions, cilantro and pepper. Sprinkle cheese over top. Move off heat and grill 5-10 minutes with lid closed.
OR

Brush flatbread or prepared crust with oil and brown one side on BBQ. Flip over and spread ingredients. Close lid and grill until cheese melts.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Stay inside and enjoy this Chinese favourite! You can use any fresh mushrooms you might have instead of the dried ones. Be decadent and use chicken instead of the tofu! It is important to use rice noodles…

I picked up this recipe years ago when I took a Chinese cooking class. It has become a standard. Hope you will enjoy it!

Beef with Baby Corn

Serves 4

Ingredients : You should be able to find the sesame oil, 5 spice powder, oyster sauce and baby corn in most supermarkets now. If you cannot find the potato starch or water chestnut flour, just use cornstarch!

You can add in some broccoli and/or water chestnuts, whatever you have.

Marinade: Mix together the following and pour over the meat –

½ tsp. sugar

1 tsp. water chestnut flour (I use potato starch)

2 Tablespoons peanut oil

1 Tablespoon light soy sauce

Dash of 5 spice powder

Few drops of sesame oil

Sauce:

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon bean flour or cornstarch

½ cup water

Mix the sauce and set aside.

Heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil I a wok. Add salt and add in the carrot. Cook for awhile. Add in the baby corn and whatever vegetables you are using. Stir and cover the wok for one minute. Turn off the heat and set aside on a plate.

Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil on high heat and saute green onions and the beef until the beef is no longer red. Add in the carrots and baby corn. Stir well and then pour in the sauce. Stir until it thickens. Serve hot over Basmati or Jasmine rice.